TMS - Switched at Birth
by The Midnight Shadows
Summary: I love Switched at Birth and I have my own ideas about where I think their stories could have gone, so I'm hoping you like them... :)
1. Introduction

BACKSTORY:

This is different from the actual show, as I have only seen up to S02 Ep14, and would like to keep it fairly separate, in terms of plot. This "chapter" is just to make you aware of the backstory details that won't be covered fairly early on in my story –

Angelo and Regina are still married and living together after Regina returned from rehab, but Lana isn't on the scene yet (either the timeline is different or I'll ever include her in my version),

Bay and Daphne still don't get along,

Melody has custody of Emmett,

Travis didn't move in with the Bledsoes (still sleeps in the car wash),

John was never senator (also meaning Daphne never met Jace),

Toby and Nikki still plan to get married,

In regards to Carlton, I would love to go back to before Carlton was being threatened with closing, but the "Uprising" episode was too powerful to deny its existence.


	2. Chapter 1

Bay assumed Emmett had given up on them. She knew that she'd done several things that had hurt him and Daphne was always sure to remind her. She stormed into her room, closely followed by Daphne, who slammed the door behind her. Bay rummaged through her closet looking for something.

"Bay?! Look at me." Daphne stomped her foot. "BAY!" Bay mumbled to herself as she continued throwing clothes on to her bed. "You have to look at me when you talk or I don't know what you're saying! This isn't fair, Bay!" Bay stood up and spun round.

"I DON'T CARE ANY MORE!" Bay paused. She had a fiery anger in her eyes. "It's not all about you and how perfect you are. Us normal people make mistakes and I did what I thought was right – it's not my fault he's gone!"

"You can't blame him for wanting to leave! You slept with Ty even though you knew Emmett still had feelings for you. Ty just came back and that's all it took for you to jump into bed with him! You know I like Ty, he was like an older brother to me, but that was stupid of both of you" she shouted. "You're not over Emmett either, everyone knows it."

"Butt out, Daphne!" Bay turned back to her closet, just as Kathryn and Regina appeared at the doorway – neither girl noticed.

"I'm not done!" Daphne yelled. Her cheeks had gone red and her brow was furrowed in frustration. She stomped her foot again and, because Bay ignored her, she shoved her hard and Bay fell on to her bed.

"DAPHNE?!" Regina and Kathryn screamed in unintentional unison. Bay looked shocked, but that turned to fury in a split-second. She got up from the bed, ready to shove Daphne, but Regina ran in between the two, whilst Kathryn still stood at the door, frozen in disbelief.


	3. Chapter 2

"What got in to you two?!" Regina asked. The girls spoke over each other, neither making any sense. "Sit down" she said firmly, at which point Kathryn came over to help guide both girls on to either end of Bay's bed. Bay turned away from Daphne and folded her arms, then lowered her head, realising that it would be rude not to let Daphne see what she was saying, so she turned back round.

"Girls, what's wrong?" Kathryn asked. Neither girl spoke, they just looked at each other and back at their mums.

"Daphne?" Regina looked at her daughter. Daphne looked blankly at her. "Bay?"

"I don't see why Daphne is always butting in. I can't take it anymore. I'm off to work-"

"Around Ty?" Daphne raised both eyebrows and had a judgemental look on her face.

"I'm done with this!" Bay got up and stormed out, grabbing her rucksack on the way out. Kathryn elegantly ran after her. Regina looked at Daphne with a disappointed look on her face. Daphne frowned and bit her lip. She nodded at her mum, acknowledging that she had gone too far.

The front door slammed and Regina tilted her head to one side, letting out a sigh. Daphne pointed her finger to her door, got up and left the room, grabbing her car keys on the way out.

When arriving at the Maui, Kansas Carnival, Bay saw that the car park was closed off by police tape. Her eyes widened in horror when she saw army personnel coming out of a tent with police officers. Her mind immediately rushed to the memory of Ty's aggressive actions when protecting her honour. She parked the car on the side of the road and jumped out, slamming the door behind her. She ran to a crowd of people who had begun to gather behind the tent. She was pushing through, trying to get to the front to see what was happening, asking what was happening.

When Bay reached the front, she had to be restrained because she was deeply affected by what she saw. She wriggled, shouting for Ty as she heard an ambulance's sirens approaching.


	4. Chapter 3

Daphne had gone to a fundraiser at Carlton. When she pulled up opposite, she thought she saw Emmett riding off on his motorbike. Her jaw dropped, but she was too confused to do anything. She convinced herself that, had Emmett returned, someone else would have seen him – everyone knew he had gone missing, albeit optionally.

Melody was standing by a cupcake stall, run by Natalie, nodding along to three people in suits. They were holding clipboards, writing sporadic notes, whilst listening to Principal Rose as the interpreter. When Melody spotted Daphne, she apologised profusely to the Suits then ran over to her, hastily checking left and right whilst crossing the road.

"Have you heard from Emmett?" she signed frantically. Daphne pulled her lips in and shook her head. "Nothing? He left me a note, but I'm getting worried. I want to call the police."

"I'm sorry he's done this, but I don't think it's the right time to call the police. I know you're worried, but he's a smart guy and he has some money, so I think we should wait another few days for him to contact one of us."

"Few days?!" Melody exclaimed, with worry lines spreading across her forehead.

"If he doesn't contact us by then, I'll go to the station with you to file a report. It may help if one of us sends him a text explaining that, so he knows he's being given space, but that we need to know he's safe, or we'll have no choice but to report him as a missing person."

"Do I do it? What would I say?" They paused. "Actually, I think it's best coming from you, so that he doesn't see it as an overprotective mum thing. Please just tell him what we've decided and let him know that I love and miss him. Please can you do that?" Daphne nodded and got out her phone. "Well, I need to get back over there. I think Toby is helping Travis with car washing, since John gave him the day off, but Natalie could use a hand with the cupcakes?"

Daphne signed "okay" back and started texting Emmett, whilst Melody went back over to join Principal Rose and the Suits, who had moved on to the arts stall, which was selling some of the students' artwork – including Bay's.


	5. Chapter 4

Sirens wailed. Emergency lights flashed. People were standing in shock. Police officers were sending people home. Bay spotted Mary Beth and pushed through the dispersing crowd to get to her.

"What happened? Is Ty alright?!"

"One of his army buddies snapped and Ty tried to stop him hurting anyone…."

"But is he okay?! The body bag, was it him?!" Mary Beth shook her head. Bay took a deep breath of relief. "Wait, then who was it?"

"Ty said his friend's PTSD took over, he became dangerous, then he just collapsed on to the floor and couldn't be revived." Bay sympathetically raised her eyebrows. "I've got to go, but Ty gave me a letter before he and the rest of his team got in the trucks with the military personnel. It's addressed to you, but I'm pretty sure I know what it's about. It's better for you to read it, though." Mary Beth handed over a green envelope, placed a hand on Bay's shoulder and walked away.

Bay stared at the envelope, focusing to the point where she hadn't noticed that most of the people had cleared the scene. She looked up to see the army trucks driving off. She dropped her shoulders, with a sad semi-pout on her face. Sliding her finger under the envelope flap, she ripped it open, pulled the cream letter out and unfolded it.

It read: _Bay, I figured I wouldn't get a chance to tell you this in person unless I saw you at Maui, Kansas Carnival one last time – if you're reading this, it means I entrusted it with Mary Beth because I didn't get a chance to speak to you face to face. I'd tell you over the phone, but I probably won't have access to my phone until after you begin to panic. So, here it is…. My squad and I are shipping out early and we're going in deeper this time. I won't have the ability to contact you for long periods at a time. You deserve better than to sit around worrying about me, so this is a goodbye. I really care about you and I'll visit you if I'm ever back in KC but, until then, I want you to move on with your life and not wait around, putting your life on hold when I may not come back. I know you may be angry but we need this. You need this. Take care of yourself, Bay._

Bay stood still, mouth open, with no sound coming out, until she felt someone tap her shoulder. She gasped, as it snapped her back into awareness of her surroundings. She turned to see a policewoman.

"Miss, are you alright?" the policewoman said in a strong Texan accent. Bay nodded silently, closing her mouth. "Well, I'm afraid you need to leave. Should I call someone for you?" Bay shook her head and slowly wandered back to her car, shoving the note into her jeans pocket and pulling out her keys. The policewoman watched, with a puzzled look on her face, then returned to work.

Bay unlocked her car, sat in the driving seat and dropped her head on to the wheel. Without raising her head, she put her keys in the ignition, fumbled around to put her seatbelt on, let out a big sigh and started the car. She lifted her head, put the car in gear, then followed the process and began to drive back home.


End file.
